Thursday, August 13, 2009

Two years ago, with flashes of brilliance from the Dodger youngsters, we dreamed of what could be. Last year, with a deep playoff run, that dream seemed within grasp. And now this year, with the best record in the ma-, er I mean second best record in-, uhhh yeah ok third best record in the majors, has the Dodgers' young core officially and finally come together?

Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it brings us to today's puzzle:

(click image to enlarge)

What message do Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, and James Loney have for us?

Hint #1 (8:30am): There is a hint near the end of the opening paragraph.

Hint #2 (9:43am): Scissors and a strong light source might help.

Hint #3 (10:45am): A non-baseball fan can conceivably solve this, but it's easier for those who know some basics about who Martin, Kemp, Ethier, and Loney are...

Puzzle Rules: Comment freely in the thread, but if you have the solution, please don't give it away to everyone in the comments section. Instead, do the following:

Email us with the message. And please include your screen name somewhere in the email; and

Post a comment simply saying you have emailed your solution attempt. I may not be able to reply to your original email promptly, so please be patient and check back on the comment thread for the latest news; I may confirm correct answers there.

You have until midnight PT tonight to submit your answer. Good luck!

General Puzzle Note: Thanks to Josh S for pointing out that there are actually 19 off-days this season, not 18 as we had thought. This means there will be 7 puzzles in the last third of the season, not 6. Because of this oversight, the rolling 7-puzzle succubus mistress will, for the last day of the puzzle season only (Oct 1), become an 8-puzzle succubus mistress so that Grand Slam Puzzle #12 will count in the final PCS Point tally.

Not familiar with SoSG's off-day puzzle competition? Have no idea what the above paragraph means? Read up here. And join the fun!

Josh, how did you know about my Firefox add-on? I've just got a few more bugs to work out, like the fact it has problems with baseball card identification, but I may distribute a beta version soon... ;)